


Aftermath

by Shatterpath



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Redemption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-14
Updated: 2013-02-14
Packaged: 2017-11-29 07:50:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/684574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shatterpath/pseuds/Shatterpath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The final battle is over and the survivors must go on.</p>
<p>A series of ficlets of an alternative track the final face off with the Dark One could have gone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Anticipate

**Author's Note:**

> I cannot stand Rumpie/Gold, so I wondered what could have happened if things had gone a way that made sense after magic returned. Instead of the 'good guys' just pretending they didn't have enemies in their midst. Oh show, how I loved you early on! But fan fic can cure all ills!
> 
> Chapters 1 and 3 are part of my self-imposed Alphabet Challenge.

In the dimness of the forest, I wait for my enemy. This has been a lifetime in coming, the destruction of the monster that damned me even before my birth, in his deal with my mother, I was ruined, destined for the tortured path I have led.

Now it his turn to pay up.

I know that I cannot be the one who stops him, that is not my role in this final battle. But I sure as hell can make sure that my True Love can succeed in the task. And with that knowledge to give me courage...

I step into the line of fire.


	2. Broken Blade

I hurt all over.

More than just a physical ache, it permeates my soul, the very fabric of my being.

"Regina!"

To my astonishment, it's Granny crying out my name with what I swear sounds like concern. Really, isn't that absurd? A moment later, there are gentle hands on me, soothing even as they cause more pain. 

Did I make that undignified sound?

"Regina, it's over. We did it. But you need to gather whatever resources you have left and fix some of this." Wearily, I peel open an eye and her face swims into focus. "Not me, you idiot, you. I won't have Emma and my granddaughter seeing you like this."

Too exhausted and hurting and twisted up where I fell to even nod, I close my eye once more and focus inward. When I swore to Henry to not use magic, I wondered if that skill would be like any other, growing rusty and weak with disuse. Thankfully for this community, those fears were unwarranted and I could fight at the sharp tip of the spear. Who knew I would be reduced to bait? Incredibly dangerous bait to be certain, but bait nonetheless.

Granny'd said we won. Has Rumpelstiltskin finally been bested? Has his legacy of terror and manipulation been broken? Has my dearest love avoided his fate?

There are shouts approaching. Even as I recoil in instinctual fear, I note they sound concerned, not threatening. The truth of Rumpel's hand in all that befell us changed the way they see me, and pity is easier to swallow than hate. With a lifetime of being manipulated into being the tool of others, twisted into a mockery of hate and pain, fighting for my own sake and my own loved ones has been the best medicine.

Even if I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck and beaten thoroughly with a tree.

Slowly, the faint wisps of magic barely accessible to me twine through my damaged body, repairing the worst of the hurts. Just in time too, as I recognize Emma's voice, a hoarse croak. Still hurting, but feeling as though all my parts are generally back where they belong, I reach out and Granny grabs my hand to help me away from the earth and stones that make a poor cushion. The shattered, scraped bark of the tree that broke my momentum makes me wince.

Stumbling, barely held up by David's larger body, Emma's eyes are as desperate as I feel. I need her touch to make this living real, to prove that I’m not hallucinating my own survival. Something shiny drops from her hand, clattering to the scattered stones near my feet.

I'm not the only one who gasps and backs away a step.

The dagger, its twisted blade so distinct, bears the name of The Dark One. That is its curse, and the flaw of those that wield its power. There is no name now, and very little blade, only a pathetic stump, its shattered blade blackened as though by the hottest fire.

"The tree," Emma whispers. "The tree that brought me here. It took the blade, let me break it. There's not much left, but …"

Not paying any concern to David's big, male body, I hug her gently, breathing in the scent of her stress and success.

"You saved us again, my darling. You are truly amazing."

"I had help this time."

"So you did."

We're startled, though neither of us moves, as a great cry of triumph goes up from many voices. Our enemy is gone and I am ally now. All that is left is to find a pathway to our lost home, taken away by my pain, unchecked. With this extraordinary woman at my side, I finally believe that maybe, just maybe, I am capable of even that.


	3. Knife

None of us know what to do with the dagger hilt, least of all me. It seems so benign and harmless, a scorched and oddly shaped hunk of metal that lends no hint to its true origins. This small thing held the curse of the Dark One, a hidden source of that cursed magic finally broken by Emma's brave shattering of the undulating blade.

Getting the thing and destroying it had cost much, my mobility, Ruby's eyes, Emma's peace of mind. Fresh gravestones declare those that fell in that final battle against our greatest collective enemy. And with my evil neutralized by love, perhaps now we can find peace.


	4. Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma's POV

We haven't been out here for a very long time. 

Months of spring cool and months of summer warm passed while our bodies and souls healed. Or at least mostly healed. Regina still limps noticeably and Ruby remains half blind while I have nightmares that make me feel like Stephen King has taken up residence in my damn head. Before the chill of winter sets in, we've agreed that we need to go lay some of our ghosts to rest.

Yes, we finally defeated Rumpelstiltskin, but the cost was crushingly high. Belle has vanished, we assume dead, and only four of Snow's dwarves are still alive. Granny held on for months, but her heart finally gave out in the end. We all still miss the restaurant, but no one dares try to take her place. David's hand will never function normally again and there are so many others that have suffered yet another blow that evil dealt them.

I've learned how to accommodate the weaknesses in my lovers without making them feel weak. And even weakness really is too strong a word, for there are few more determined than Regina and Ruby. Each of them have learned to work around their handicaps, to relearn skills and pick up new ones. Hell, with a good assistant, Ruby's as good a cook as she ever was and Regina can do anything she puts her mind to. Except run, or walk very fast. So, we've put up an enclosed porch, snug against all weather, and installed a middling-sized pool with its own current alongside a good hot tub.

Along the path made by many feet before us, we walk as one entity. I lead the way, arm in arm with Regina so that she can use me for balance if need be. She in turn leads Ruby with their fingers intertwined. Together like this, we move through the forest, which is strangely still and quiet, as though they know we've come to pay our respects.

The clearing looks so different from when I stumbled away from it with the blackened dagger hilt my grisly trophy. The green has returned, turning the firework colors of autumn, hiding most of the ravaged tree that once bore both me and August here all those years ago. 

"Wow," Regina breathes out quietly. "I'm now doubly glad and impressed you walked away from this, my White Knight."

That nick name makes me uncomfortable with mixed feelings. I both like it and hate it, though I suppose it does make sense. But she saved me as much as I saved her.

Picking our way carefully along the faint path that winds through the splintered pieces of the great tree, we come to the shattered stump. The thing looks like a grenade went off in it, turning a good chunk of it to toothpicks. Tokens of those who have come before us peek amidst the yellowing grass and graying splinters. Here and there I swear I see the sparkle of the shattered dagger in the corner of my eyes. 

When I turn to look, there is nothing there.

"You're very sensitive to magic, my dear. Especially now."

She's right of course. All my exposure to it here and there has left a permanent impression on me and I can sense it fairly accurately. It can be useful or annoying, but mostly it's a neat party trick.

"It smells funny too," Ruby adds quietly, scenting the air. "But the forest is reclaiming it."

"I agree."

There's little for me to add, so I merely nod I agreement and wrap an arm around each of them. For a long time we just stand there, overlooking the jagged stump, and remember that fateful day.

"We're going to do you know," my voice says, completely without the input of my conscious brain. Both of them look quizzically at me and the adoration I feel for both warms me completely. "Get you guys home. Who knows, I might even join you. Though I’ll miss cable."

Giggling together, they kiss my cheeks and Ruby sasses, "and your four-wheeled sidekick?"

"And indoor plumbing."

"Not helping sell me on the deal, ladies."

It's as though our happiness strips away the last of the evil here, our combined magics rendering it at last impotent. The Dark One is gone and our futures are ours at last.


End file.
